Leslie Javorski

Writer & Food Expert

Shrikhand

This yoghurt flavour is not on the grocery shelves. But it should be even if it would end up being a cheater version on the classic Shirkhand from India.

With the real one, you make your own yoghurt, add sugar and green cardamom, warm milk to infuse the saffron, and strain the whole thing in cheesecloth overnight to separate the liquid to get a thick creamy yoghurt. Pistachios are tossed in before serving. It is delicious. Anything with that many steps and that much attention usually is. To say nothing of the freshness of the milk (probably unpasturized), which may or may not be goat.

How to Cheat

Take 1 cup of plain Greek yoghurt, 2-3 threads of saffron and let sit overnight, stirring occasionally to mix in the saffron. Before serving, stir in honey to taste. Pistachios, too if you want them.

Serve with fresh fruit. Any fresh fruit is good – berries, peaches, nectarines, plums. For pure Canadian fusion, you could also serve in place of ice-cream with a fruit crisp, a brown betty, or a cobbler.

Pudding and shirkhand makers probably never saw the other coming, but this is Canada and this is our food and because of it we get pairings nobody else has. This is a good one so who knows, maybe we will see it on our grocery shelves sometime soon.